DR. WALLACE: I'm a really good student and I also am an excellent piano player. I can play many of the great classical piano pieces with note-for-note accuracy. I just turned 18 and I live in my parents' home. Overall, my parents are fine, but they have one habit that really gets under my skin!

This is that whenever they have guests visit our home for the first time, they pressure me into playing the piano in front of the guests so that my parents can "show me off" to them. I find this both embarrassing and unsavory. I always feel sheepish when I have to sit down and play a piece in front of my parents' friends. It's not that I feel pressure to perform, since I know the music well and can perform it accurately. But I just don't like the whole dynamic of a forced, impromptu performance for anyone, especially someone I've never met. Do you think I'm being overly sensitive here, or are my parents being overly domineering? — I Have Piano Skills, via email

I HAVE PIANO SKILLS: I agree with you on this issue. Your parents should not force you to play for anyone at any time. If you have a public performance in the future, they should be free to invite whoever they would like to be in the audience. But being asked to "show off" in front of houseguests is out of bounds, in my opinion.

I do have a suggestion for you, however. Perhaps you could set up a video of you playing the piano that your parents could access on a laptop computer or tablet that they can show to whomever they want. This way, you don't need to be present or feel embarrassed by their requests.

I have a story for you about a person who did not show off his piano skills but who ended up wildly succeeding despite his hidden talent. A roadie who worked for a famous rock band in the last century was an excellent piano player, but he never mentioned this to the mainly guitar-driven band until they wrote an epic ballad that cried out for a piano introduction. One day, he sat down at a piano left on a stage by a previous band and started to play that piano. He told the singer, "This is how I would play the introduction to your song if you wanted to use a piano part with it." The man's name was Billy Powell. The song being developed back then was the classic rock anthem "Free Bird." Mr. Powell was immediately fired as a roadie and then hired to join the band as keyboard player! His name will now forever be tied to this song, and he left his ultimate legacy as a member of a band that was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

I'M MORE THAN HIS "FRIEND"

DR. WALLACE: I don't like being introduced as a "friend." I'm 22 years old and I live with my boyfriend, but he never tells anyone that we plan to be married and start a family someday. He does not even call me his "girlfriend" when I'm introduced, even though we are living together!

I think this is because a lot of people at our college know his parents, and he likely does not want the word to reach his parents that we are in a serious relationship.

How can I get him to tell the truth to people we meet? — We Live Together, via email

WE LIVE TOGETHER: It's laughable that he does not want his parents to know that you are in a serious relationship given your living arrangement. Just about everyone on Earth would consider a couple in a romantic relationship who lived together to be in a serious relationship. He likely has some unresolved issues with his parents, and you may want to look into that at some point.

But for now, you need to have a serious heart-to-heart conversation with your boyfriend. Bring this issue up and let him know exactly how you feel. You might even tell him that if he's not willing to properly and accurately introduce you, that you'll plan to introduce yourself to others as his girlfriend if he's too timid to do so on his own.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. Email him at rwallace@thegreatestgift.com. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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